...To Kill A Mockingbird Essay In many situations, stereotypes have been the simplest and most ignorant way to understand someone. Harper Lee displays the limiting effects these judgments have with her novel To Kill A Mockingbird. The pressures of society’s opinions influence the way children grow as a person, and can be used as an excuse to believe something about certain people that is known to be untrue. These cruel judgments can also cause someone to live in isolation because of the ignorance of a community. Stereotypes and judgments pressure the subjects of those opinions to act and live the way others want to see them. In the youngest years of Scout’s life, she was free to be whom she wished. However when her Aunt Alexandra comes to...
Words: 1262 - Pages: 6
...Stereotyping or “a stereotype” is either a negative or positive preconceived thought towards a certain gender, race, religion, or a particular age group, etc. Stereotyping can slip in without a second thought & people frequently never realize they’re stereotyping since they’re used to it. Individually, we all stereotype things whether we notice it or not. That is called unconscious bias. Where our brain makes automatic judgements. For example; from thinking certain animals are always extremely aggressive or the thinking that a person is up to no good because of their skin color or area they live in. Basically, people who are not the same skin color, are of a different religion, different gender, or age can be affected by stereotypes no matter...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...Dictionary, the definition of stereotype is “to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” Stereotypes are always around in literature. It adds to the conflict to the story, to make it more entertaining. In any story there will always be a stereotype involved. This holds true for To Kill a Mockingbird. Every element is affected by stereotypes. Every character and situation has a stereotype in the novel. The characters of To Kill a Mockingbird each have a stereotype about them that affects their lives and the stereotypes of the story is one of the main themes. Scout, Jean Louise Finch, is Atticus’s daughter, who is a tomboy. She is often told to be a young lady....
Words: 1641 - Pages: 7
...to act however they like, since all he wants is for them to have good personalities. Therefore, Atticus doesn't comform to society in many ways. This is also demonstrated by the way he defends Tom Robinson. He addresses the stigma against black people in the 1930s, though the issues addressed are still relevant today. Tom Robinson Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a teenage girl who asked him to help her with chores multiple times. The case is made by Mayella and her father, who say Tom took advantage of her and beat her. Tom's case is a perfect demonstration of the descrimination against coloured people in the 1930s. Maycomb's citizens are convinced he is guilty, no matter what he or Atticus say. This is due to the stereotype that all black men only have immoral intents, and will use violence to carry them out. Tom's case teaches Jem and Scout about the racial discrimination in their...
Words: 468 - Pages: 2
...Throughout the novel Jem, Dill, and Scout become very curious with the “mysterious” Boo Radley because he has not been seen outside of his house since he was a little boy. The children actually become really afraid of him after hearing that he drove scissors into his father’s “pants leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities” (7). However, stories like this were based on gossip, no one really knew anything about Boo Radley. At the end of the novel, Scout finally meets Boo and learns that all the gossip she heard turns out to be not true. Boo is actaully just the outcast of the neighborhood, he is characterized only by what others say about him. Like Boo Radley, Tom is characterized as an outcast within Maycomb. The normal mentality of most Americans is that “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white man always wins” (187). Throughout the trial Atticus has substantial proof that Tom was an innocent man, but since he is a black man the jury still found him guilty, ignoring what Atticus has said. Maycomb finds Tom to be an outcast, and they only see him for who they wanted to see him as and not for the real Tom Robinson. Tom and Boo represent outcasts throughout the Country, but in reality there are outcasts in every community. When Atticus tells Jem and Scout to “remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” he refers to...
Words: 1076 - Pages: 5
...Have you ever wondered what a short story is? Well let me tell you. A short story is when you stereotype someone or something based on a story or stories. It is like hearing that broccoli tastes bad from the internet so you never eat broccoli, even though you have never tried it. You don’t truly understand something until you try it or understand someone unless you walk in their shoes. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of a single story is shown through Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Dolphus Raymond. A single story is first shown with Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a man that is feared by the whole town of Maycomb. People think of him as the monster of town. A short story is first shown when the kids, Jem, Scout, and Dill, are talking about what Boo Radley looks like. Dill says that he looks like a monster and that if you see him, it will give you nightmares. Dill spoke with fear, “Boo was about six and a half feet...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...and Jem are taunted by their classmates about how their father is defending a black man while the Ewells are near the bottom of the social hierarchy just above black people. Due to their naivety, Atticus’ children Jem and Scout are oblivious to other people's feelings. However, overtime the children begin to mature and realize the differences in their community. Additionally, the children feel compelled to reach out to Boo Radley, their elusive neighbor who is the center of the town’s fascination. Over the years, many rumors of Boo’s whereabouts have been rumored and the cause of his private lifestyle is questioned by many. Throughout the novel, Boo Radley, Scout, and Tom Robinson each represent how people are stereotyped by...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...deal with someone that loves and lives with black people. But he confronts her and Dill, as a result he makes a simple point that he prefers blacks over his kind because they are uptight and are hypocrites. The white people have their views and judgemental ways against the black community. Mr.Dolphus Raymond tells them this so they can change their views on how they see people. "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason... folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskeythat's why he won't change his ways... that's why he lives the way he does." (Chapter 20)... I shouldn't be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn't care who knew it, but he was fascinating. (Chapter 20). People stereotype Mr.Dolphus Raymond based on his past,even Scout stereotyped him and when she realized that he was man with a bad past she started to enjoy more of his company. She took Atticus’ lessons into a real life stitution and had sympathy for Mr.Dolphus Raymond. Atticus would always tell her never to judge a person and to get to know them before assuming. Scout did that with Mr.Dolphus...
Words: 1252 - Pages: 6
...for this district. It’s surrounded by homes that are not the norm, not the upper middle class that the older community is made up of. Because the cliental is changing and lots of African Americans are moving in and the community isn’t changing it created a friction in the school at times. The students of these parents which are totally different then what the community is used are constantly faced with prejudice and discrimination. The African American students are constantly judged and have to prove they are not something before they get a chance to show who they truly are. These African American boys are fighting against stereotypes and can be put through extreme circumstances. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar to these African American boys at my school. They are characters who are misjudged based on peoples built in stereotypes of them and persecuted because of people misconceptions. These two characters are the mockingbirds in the story. As a teacher I find myself having to do anything to help them students similar to both characters who are will do anything to change people perception of the helpless. Atticus begins to see a community turn against him...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...to win this court case because people with dark skin never win even if they have a more believable story. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win” (Lee 76). Even though everyone in the courthouse knew that Tom had a very slim chance of winning no one gave up on him. Due to the racist point of view from other lawyers who have dealt with Tom Robinson’s case, Scout asks her father why he would take on the role of defending him. In this passage Atticus is telling Scout the reasons why he believes in Mr. Robinson and wants to defend him. Scout is never told about the perspectives of the other lawyers though. This is an example of justice in a way where Atticus is limiting the stereotypes by not sharing them with his daughter. As a reader, one is able to interpret the court as segregated even though a court’s job is to prove justice. "Tom Robinson's case does not merely introduce the problem of racial injustice. It also introduces the consequent problems of how to live a virtuous life in a world governed by injustice and of how to live a life guided by tolerance among intolerable people” (Heims 57). In Were You Ever a Turtle, Neil Heims shows how segregation plays a significant role during this time period. He expresses the separation between the black and white communities and how even under the law, the jurisdiction of the judge and jury were based upon prejudice views. "Skaggs comments that there is a formula for court...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
...Sometimes Nonconforming Can Be Good In School I learned that a conformist is person who follow the rules or laws and that a nonconformist was the opposite. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird I realized how there was an important character that represented nonconformity named Arthur “Boo” Radley . I also realized there was an important character from the Am I Blue serious story called Holding named Jon. Boo was a nonconformist because he never comes out the house. Jon was conformist for a holding on to a secret from his best friend. Boo from To kill a mockingbird was important character that represent non-conformity. Boo was the opposite of all people who lived in Maycomb County. In the book no one ever saw him because he never came out the house. Boo not coming out of the house is what made him be known as a recluse who...
Words: 611 - Pages: 3
...To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #1 “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop…” Pg: 5 This quotation on chapter one is Scout’s introductory description of Maycomb. Scout emphasizes the slow pace, Alabama heat, and old fashioned values of the town. She writes of time when she “first knew” Maycomb, indicating that she embarks upon this recollection of her childhood much later in life, as an adult. It makes reference to the widespread poverty of the town, implying that Maycomb is in the midst of the great depression. As stated in the quote “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with.” As been specified above Maycomb county was a ghost town. In the text on page six it clarifies how mysterious it was, “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #2 “I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Pg: 20 On chapter two scout talks about how she takes reading for granted. Losing it would be devastating to her. Scout compares it to not breathing anymore, reading, for little kids, is not a priority in Maycomb. Scout, however, has Atticus her father teach the incredible joy of reading to his children. This applies to the second sentence about breathing. Although she does not think to herself ‘I love breathing’ for there she does not realize...
Words: 4045 - Pages: 17
...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, mockingbirds are animals that “... ‘ don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us…’” (Lee). A few people in the novel also fit the description of this harmless bird, mainly Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. But another character, the lonesome but loathsome Mayella Ewell, has some traits that could classify her as a mockingbird. Living up to the stereotype of the Ewells, she faces isolation from the rest of society and has a lack of love from anyone, her dad, her siblings, and the rest of the town, except for the politeness she received from Tom. But as the story continues,...
Words: 824 - Pages: 4
...In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, there was plenty of misunderstanding, prejudice, stereotype, and bias. But misunderstanding was an idea that came up the most. To Kill A Mockingbird shows misunderstanding in society from a child’s point-of-view and not an adult’s point-of-view because adults are more mature and they don’t have as much imagination as a child does. This is shown from a child’s point-of-view because children have more creativity and are more energetic than adults. In society, misunderstanding can be seen when people do unusual things. This can be seen on page 24 where Scout, one of the main characters in the novel, doesn’t know why Walter, another character in the novel, pours syrup on his vegetables. The reason why Walter pours syrup on his vegetables is because Walter is poor and he has never tried sugar. People do things like this because they’re hungry or they’ve never tried sweets. Misunderstanding shows how people don’t understand...
Words: 419 - Pages: 2
...when evaluating the text that relates or ties back into this equality theme in various different ways is the snowman. At first, the readers come across what appears to just be a snowman that Scout and Jem construct on the first day it snows in Maycomb County for ages, but in reality, the snowman could easily represent something more. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there is obviously an abundance prejudice that many people in that book are facing, whether it be skin color or even influenced by from other people like Boo Radley for example. One of the considerably more famous Harry Potter lines goes, “We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on.” What that quote is more or less endeavoring to say that everyone is capable of doing the right thing just as well as the wrong one and that it is up to us to decipher which one is worth pursuing. The question is why that successfully influences the entire town’s opinions of Boo himself, Tom Robinson, and even supposed town drunk, Dolphus Raymond, whom we meet outside the courtroom. It is in that moment that Scout questions why he pretends to be something he is not and his capability to change the cycle that they are all a component of that only it puzzles adolescent Scout even more than before. As the book progresses, Scout seems to grasp the concept more when she communicates, “‘…There’s only one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 227). Based on the novel writing, it is clear to infer that, Harper...
Words: 881 - Pages: 4
